Greetings and thanks in advance.
I have never been on a cruise before, Ocean or river, but am retiring, and some of these smaller River cruises are starting to look appealing. Especially the Danube. Never seen Budapest, Serbia and Bulgaria and they are all on the same cruise etc.
Anybody love River cruises? How is the food? The wine selection? Am I going to be able to smuggle a few bottles on board? The service? And most of all… What are your favorite Lines?
My parents have done multiple Viking cruises in Europe and loved them. They gave us a gift of doing a Rhône cruise which is one of the more wine-centric ones with lots of side trip options, and I was fairly impressed with the food. They go out of the way to tie the meals into the regions you are traveling in. The ‘upgraded’ wine lists are definitely better, wouldn’t say it’s worth it, but there is a work-around from bringing your own. They were VERY accommodating with letting us have wines and beers we bought locally on the trip, both at dinner and at the topside bar. Just chat up your concierge and they can help you out.
We have used Viking for ocean cruises and you can bring on as much wine as you want. For our Alaska cruise we took aboard some champagne and a vintage port. Their river cruises are the same. For Viking the service in the ports was well organized.
Uniworld is the highest end line of the big boys then Viking. That’s not to say Uniworld is better, just a matter of the style.
There are tons of YouTube videos to show the various ships, ports, and excursions.
The Danube is an easy choice for a first cruise, lots to see and do..
France also has lots of barge cruises. That’s on my bucket list. They are really awesome. They come in every price range, shape and size and are all over France.
Riviera river cruises is one of my favorites. They market mostly to the Europeans and not Americans so most people here have never heard of them. Smaller group sizes on excursions compared to Viking, rooms slightly larger though almost all river boats are the same, food great though I would give Viking the edge on that. Less expensive than Viking and travels the exact same routes. Last Riviera cruise we did there were 4 groups of Americans and everyone else was from England.
I’ve never done a cruise but I find youtube reviews of cruises … relaing and the river ones tempting. YT is full of cruise reviews so the suggestion above makes tons of sense. I watched one by two fellows who cruise almost full time and make silly punny jokes but give very informative tours of cruise ships and discussions of pros ans cons – you might find them useful - Cruising with Ben and David. Here’s a link to their review of a Riviera Rhine cruise but they have a whole playlist of river cruise reviews: https://youtu.be/vrolDcgx1JE?si=1l6tYsnJHLH6OcN_
BTW, they give great info on DIY port excursions for all the places they visit since they do mainly big cruises so if I were booking a cruise, I’d definitely see if they have location tips.
Thanks Everyone - great advice! Those Riviera cruises look nice. All I know is I want a room with a balcony.
We have several friends who swear by Ama. Never done one, so can’t personally vouch. But they’re worth looking into.
Also, I think there is an older thread on this very topic.
I want to book an AMA cruise soon, I’ve heard great things about them. Might do Christmas Markets 2027 with AMA.
That’s what one couple did and enjoyed it.
My father has been on multiple Grand Circle Cruise Lines. Swears by them and their QPR. https://www.gct.com/
70s, a big hiker, enjoys wine and food. Loves Rick Steves, if that’s your thing.
Haven’t done the river cruises, did do a self-charter down the Canal du Midi on a barge at one point with my parents. Would thoroughly recommend the barge experience.
Arabilis is one of the wineries for a river cruise with a pre-trip to Champagne in Spring 2027 through Ama Waterways.